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Agency Information Collection Activities: Continuing Collection; Comment Request; Request for Information for the Bioremediation Field Initiative Database System
Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.
[Federal Register: March 15, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 51)]
[Notices]
[Page 13962-13964]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr15mr00-57]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6560-9]
Agency Information Collection Activities: Continuing Collection;
Comment Request; Request for Information for the Bioremediation Field
Initiative Database System
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501
et seq.), this document announces that EPA is planning to submit the
following continuing Information Collection Request (ICR) to the Office
of Management and Budget (OMB): Request for Information for the
Bioremediation Field Initiative Database Systems, EPA ICR No. 1672.03,
OMB Control No. 2080-0048, expires 05/31/2000. Before submitting the
ICR to OMB for review and approval, EPA is soliciting comments on
specific aspects of the proposed information collection as described
below.
DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before May 15, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Office of Research and Development, Technology Transfer and
Support Division, National Risk Management Research Laboratory, 26 West
Martin Luther King Drive (Mailstop G75), Cincinnati, OH 45268.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fran Kremer, ph: 513-569-7346, fax:
513-569-7620, email: kremer.fran@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Affected entities: Entities potentially
affected by this action are those that are involved in the use of
innovative technologies at Superfund sites, such as state and local
governments, businesses, and nonprofit institutions.
Title: Request for Information for the Bioremediation Field
Initiative Database System, OMB Control No. 2080-0048, expires 05/31/
2000.
Abstract: This is an ICR renewal for gathering information on the
design, operation, and performance of biological treatment technologies
from remediation experts and managers working at sites where biological
treatment technologies are being tested or implemented. The authority
for collecting information on innovative treatment technologies is
described at Section 311 of the Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act, Section 8003 of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act, Section 7001 of the Oil Pollution Act, and Section 10 of
the Toxic Substance Control Act. Response to the collection of
information is voluntary. The information will help the EPA to deploy
innovative technologies more quickly at Superfund and other sites.
Selected respondents are asked to complete and return, via mail, a
two-part questionnaire. The first part requests general site
information, such as location, contacts, contaminants, and legislative
authority under which the site is being remediated. The second part
requests site-specific biotechnology information, such as the stage of
the operation, wastes and media being treated, cleanup level goals, and
the performance and cost of the treatment. Again, all responses are
strictly voluntary. Following the initial questionnaire, respondents
receive followup questionnaires on a semi-annual basis to update the
information already provided. EPA has developed an easy-to-use PC-based
version of the questionnaire that is currently in use. To run the
electronic questionnaire, the user must have access to a Windows-
capable IBM-compatible PC, preferably 486-class or better. The PC
questionnaire has several benefits:
Questions that apply only under particular circumstances
(i.e., are dependent on previous responses) are only presented to the
user as necessary.
Data validations are performed optionally as the user is
filling out the questionnaire and are required when a respondent is
ready to submit the data to EPA. Data validation conditions are
reported with an explanation of the problem/situation and recommended
corrective action(s).
Pick lists are provided for several questions, so that
users may choose an item from a list rather than enter the full text
using the keyboard.
Respondents may utilize either the paper- or the PC-based
questionnaire, which ever they prefer. In each case, when respondents
are updating the site records for sites that are already in the
Bioremediation Field Initiative database, the questionnaire shows the
site's complete responses from past questionnaires, so that information
that has not changed need not be reentered. Respondents with access to
the Internet may express comments or request assistance using an e-mail
account that is identified in each questionnaire mailing. Each form of
the questionnaire is updated occasionally between data collection
cycles to include prominent new technologies and contaminants as they
are identified in prior collection efforts. A Web-based version of the
questionnaire with essentially the same features as the PC-based
version is in development.
EPA compiles information from completed questionnaires into the
Bioremediation Field Initiative computer database. EPA developed a
software program called the Bioremediation in the Field Search System
(BFSS) to search, view, and report information in the database.
Recently, EPA re-engineered this software into a Web-enabled
application, making the BFSS data available to the public for online
searching.
Each site in the database includes contact information for one or
more individuals associated with the regulatory authority or
application of bioremediation technology at the site. Remediation
professionals may contact individuals with common site conditions to
share information. Summary statistics may be drawn from the database to
elucidate trends in bioremediation.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a
currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control numbers for EPA's
regulations are listed in 40 CFR part 9 and 48 CFR Chapter 15.
The EPA would like to solicit comments to:
(i) Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency,
including whether the information will have practical utility;
(ii) Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden
of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of
the methodology and assumptions used;
(iii) Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information
to be collected; and
(iv) Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those
who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of
[[Page 13963]]
information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of
responses.
Burden Statement: The following burden figures are taken from the
currently approved ICR:
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Burden
Respondent type hours
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First-time respondents...................................... 5.0
Update respondents.......................................... 1.0
No-change respondents....................................... 0.5
Nonrespondents.............................................. 0.25
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Total................................................... 6.75
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
Respondents
Respondent type --------------------------------------
Period one Period two Yearly
------------------------------------------------------------------------
First-time respondents.......... 50 50 100
Update respondents............... 449 482 931
No-change respondents............ 129 139 268
Nonrespondents................... 102 110 212
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Total........................ 730 781 1511
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(First-time respondents fill out a questionnaire for the first time,
entering data for a site not previously included in the Bioremediation
Field Initiative database. Update respondents receive a questionnaire
containing the current record of site data in the Bioremediation Field
Initiative database and enter information to make the information
current. No-change respondents receive a questionnaire containing the
current record of site data in the Bioremediation Field Initiative
database, review the information and find that it is current;
therefore, they need not modify information to make the site current.
Nonrespondents receive the questionnaire, review it, and elect not to
respond.)
The cost per hour of respondent time is estimated as $52 for
management personnel, $45 for technical personnel, and $32 for clerical
personnel, based on recent labor rates.
Annual respondent burdens are calculated as follows:
In period one, up to 730 respondents will be sent
questionnaires. Of these, 50 first-time respondents will take 5 hours
each to complete the questionnaire. All of the 578 previously submitted
questionnaires will be mailed out for updates, 449 respondents will
update the questionnaire (1 hour), 129 respondents will review their
data and return the questionnaire indicating that the data have not
changed (0.5 hour), and 102 respondents will not return the
questionnaire (0.25 hour).
PERIOD ONE HOURS:
Hours Total * No. of Respondents
First-time Respondents................................... 5.00 * 50 = 250
No. Updating Respondents................................. 1.00 * 449 = 449
No. No Change Respondents................................ 0.50 * 129 = D65
Nonrespondents........................................... 0.25 * 102 = 26
-----------
Total Period Burden (Hours)........................ ............ ...... ........... ...... 790
PERIOD ONE COSTS:
Cost Total * No. of Respondents
First-time Respondents................................... $210.75 * 50 = $10,538
No. Updating Respondents................................. 43.38 * 449 = 19,478
No. No-Change Respondents................................ 20.88 * 129 = 2,694
Nonrespondents........................................... 12.13 * 102 = 1,237
-----------
Total Period Cost.................................. ............ ...... ........... ...... 33,947
In period two, up to 781 respondents will be sent
questionnaires. Of these, 50 first-time respondents will take 5 hours
each to complete the questionnaire. All of the 628 previously submitted
questionnaires will be mailed out for updates, 482 respondents will
update the questionnaire (1 hour), 139 respondents will review their
data and return the questionnaire indicating that the data have not
changed (0.5 hour), and 110 respondents will not return the
questionnaire (0.25 hour).
PERIOD TWO HOURS:
Hours Total * No. of Respondents
First-time Respondents......................... 5.00 * 50 = 250
Updating Respondents........................... 1.00 * 482 = 482
No-Change Respondents.......................... 0.50 * 139 = 70
Nonrespondents................................. 0.25 * 110 = 28
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Total Period Burden (Hours).............. ............ ...... ........... ...... 830
PERIOD TWO COSTS:
Cost Total * No. of Respondents
First-time Respondents......................... $210.00 * 50 = $10,538
Updating Respondents........................... 43.38 * 482 = 20,909
[[Page 13964]]
No-Change Respondents.......................... 20.88 * 139 = 2,902
Nonrespondents................................. 12.13 * 110 = 1,334
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Total Period Cost........................ ............ ...... ........... ...... 35,683
Based on these estimates, the annual respondents' burden is
projected as follows:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hours Cost
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Period One...................................... 790 $33,947
Period Two...................................... 830 35,683
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EPA's experience to this point indicates that, in most cases, the
paperwork burden associated with completing the questionnaire is
essentially the same regardless of whether the respondent is using the
paper or the electronic version. A general, indirect efficiency
advantage for respondents using the electronic version is that the
software application's data validation function (described above) is
likely to reduce the need for callbacks from EPA concerning incomplete
or nonstandard data. (This also will be true for the Web-based version
of the questionnaire when it is deployed.) The most significant
efficiencies associated with use of the electronic version would accrue
to the relatively small percentage of respondents who provide
information for numerous sites. An important benefit of the electronic
version not related to the respondents' paperwork burden is that
collected site data can be more efficiently added to the computer
database.
Each year, the burden figures increase somewhat, as first-time
respondents are added to the database. In subsequent years, first-time
respondents will be divided among the other respondent types. This
growth is offset slightly as sites are removed from the data collection
cycle--most typically if the site activity is completed, but for other
reasons as well.
Burden means the total time, effort, or financial resources
expended by persons to generate, maintain, retain, or disclose or
provide information to or for a Federal agency. This includes the time
needed to review instructions; develop, acquire, install, and utilize
technology and systems for the purposes of collecting, validating, and
verifying information, processing and maintaining information, and
disclosing and providing information; adjust the existing ways to
comply with any previously applicable instructions and requirements;
train personnel to be able to respond to a collection of information;
search data sources; complete and review the collection of information;
and transmit or otherwise disclose the information.
Dated: February 29, 2000.
Robert A. Olexsey,
Director, Land Remediation and Pollution Control Division.
[FR Doc. 00-6394 Filed 3-14-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P